At a time when inclusivity and discrimination are common topics of conversation, the Internet is rallying around a father who defended his son against his own sister for watching Discovery Family's My Little Pony at 10 years old.
It's been hard raising my son as a single father, but I am doing my best.
In fact, many males enjoy the My Little Pony franchise. There is a community of men called "Bronies," or "bro ponies," that include male fans, who are either teenagers or adult males, of the series My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, according to Dictionary.com. Horse Nation went on to say that "MLP fans are overwhelmingly male" and statistics showed almost 85 percent of MLP fans are male, 95 percent of which are between the ages of 10 and 30.
The now-viral Reddit post recounting events, titled, "AITA for telling my sister she is no better than her daughter," has been upvoted 10,500 times since it was shared to the subreddit "Am I the A**hole" on March 15.
Redditor @Typical-Door-1269, a 45-year-old man whose son "loves" the animated series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (MLP) revealed they moved recently for a job and he wanted to be closer to his family.
The original poster's (OP) ex isn't around anymore because of "personal reasons."
"It's been hard raising my son as a single father, but I am doing my best," the OP said.
The Redditor's sister, 48, lives nearby. The pair were close growing up, but he says she didn't approve of him raising his son alone. Both the OP's son and his sister's daughter, 11, go to the same school.
His son has a couple of toys as well as shirts and posters from the My Little Pony show. Lately, the OP has been getting calls from the school that his niece and her friends have been bullying his son and his friends.
The OP continued: "He likes to bring a pony toy with him to school to keep in his backpack as it makes him happy. Son came home crying from school that niece broke the toy and threw it in the trash. I was furious and scheduled a meeting with the school and my sister. My sister thinks it's them goofing around and having fun."
Upon leaving a meeting where counseling was suggested, which the OP's sister thought was a "ridiculous" idea, his sister pulled him aside and said that maybe he should have his son watch something that's "more appropriate for boys." She also added that if he had a "mother figure," then there wouldn't be any problems.
The Redditor looked at her and told her she wasn't "any better" than his niece. Apparently, she was "shocked" at the comment back, and the OP's parents even became involved, which included a "stern talk" about his son's "interest in a girly show." They also added that he should apologize to his sister for what he said.
Over 1,000 comments came pouring in over the viral Reddit post, and people are in strong support of the father in the situation. One comment received over 13,000 upvotes on its own.
"NTA [not the a**hole]," the Redditor said. "What your son enjoys is none of his grandparents' concern if it isn't hurting anyone. Sounds like your family doesn't like people who buck traditional gender roles."
A Redditor thinks "toys are toys" and that they aren't "gender-specific." However, they added: "Toys are stereotypically marketed for gender specificity, but that's just to boost sales. Toys cannot be gender-specific because you can't know what kind of toys kids will want to play with."
One user thinks the OP's niece was bullying his son "because she heard her mom talking crap at home. NTA, needless to say. Sorry your family's clinging to laughably antiquated ideas of what boys should and shouldn't watch is making your kid miserable."
Another believes the OP isn't at fault, suggesting they keep the children's school involved. "Sounds like you'll need them to back you up," the Redditor expressed. "I would personally lose my mind if any of my relatives did this to my kids. And as for him liking MLP, that is a wonderful show for anyone because it teaches great lessons about friendship, respect, etc."
While a Redditor thinks the OP's sister is just "justifying bullying," adding, "She truly is no better than her kid, and I see where your niece is learning her mean girl behavior."
A lot of people had positive affirmations for the single father. "NTA. You sound like a father that I never had," a user admitted. "And I'm happy that you didn't back down from your family."
Another person respects the OP for letting his son "live his best life. You are an amazing single dad! Toss your sister, she sucks."
Newsweek reached out to u/Typical-Door-1269 for comment.
